Houston Animal Shelters Combine Holiday Cheer and Saving Lives
Thousands of healthy, adoptable pets are waiting in Houston shelters now for adopters. Holidays are a popular time to acquire a pet, so animal shelter leadership from greater Houston has joined together for a special “Home for the Holidays” event series to encourage people to adopt a pet.
A loving home is on holiday wish lists for thousands of animals in the greater Houston area –even a short stay with a holiday foster family can mean so much for dogs and cats while they await adoption. As animal shelters throughout the greater Houston area continue to reel from post-covid related impacts, many are operating over capacity. They need the support of the community to save lives.
The Home for the Holidays event series presented by Best Friends Animal Society, in collaboration with BARC, Harris County Animal Shelter, Montgomery Animal Shelter, Fort Bend County Animal Services, City of Baytown Animal Services & Adoption Center, Rosenberg Animal Control & Shelter, Sugarland Animal Services, Houston Humane Society, SPCA of Brazoria and Pasadena Animal Shelter will be held throughout December with the shared goal of placing as many animals as possible into loving adoptive or foster homes for the holidays. Many participating shelters are offering fee-waived adoptions—visit https://bfas.org/homefortheholidays for a full list, their adoption fees and adoption event hours. Adopted pets will come spayed or neutered, microchipped, and have age-appropriate vaccinations. Every adopted pet will also go home with a festive, keepsake bandana and a special holiday gift bag with items to help them adjust to their new home.
Visitors attending a Home for the Holidays event will enjoy complimentary hot chocolate, and treats, and can make commemorative pawprint ornaments and cards. Santa will also be making a special trip from the North Pole to visit with adopters and their new pets.
Home for the Holidays December Event Series:
Saturday, December 3rd 12pm-4pm
City of Baytown Adoptions and Animal Services
Saturday, December 10th 11am-3pm
Saturday, December 17th 10am-5pm
Fort Bend County Fairgrounds Home for the Holidays Adoption event
Sunday, December 18th 11am-3pm
“Right now, thousands of lovable pets are waiting in our local shelters for a home to call their own,” said Sophia Proler, Houston Program Manager at Best Friends Animal Society. “Through this lifesaving collaboration, we hope that the greater Houston community will get to experience the comfort and joy of adopting a new best friend this holiday season.”
If you are unable to commit to adopting, you can still grant a shelter pets’ wishes in these ways:
- Give a shelter animal a gift—Bring a little joy and enrichment to a shelter animal this holiday season by purchasing an item from the shelter’s wish list or making a donation on behalf of the shelter animals.
- Give the gift of time—In the spirit of the season consider “gifting” your time as a volunteer or foster. Volunteers are such a valuable resource to animal shelters that are currently understaffed by providing daily enrichment to animals.
- Spread the word—Follow Best Friends in Houston on Facebook and Instagram. Use @BFAS_Houston to share stories of adoptable animals through social media to increase awareness and help find them homes.
About Best Friends Animal Society:
Best Friends Animal Society is a leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters by 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to around 355,000. Best Friends runs lifesaving programs all across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 4,000 animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All®. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.